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A while back, I went to the Tribe event for Black women in the media which had a great panel of women, who were breaking boundaries in the creative media industry.  One of the speakers on the night, Monique Needham spoke about the \”just factor.\”  Where she found herself always adding \”just\” when people asked her what she did.  She found herself saying things like “I just have a web series”  I just do, to her, it almost seemed like an apology for what she did.  This was met with a unified agreement from the room, we all recognised this pattern.  For me, it felt like she was talking directly to me. I am so guilty of this nasty habit,  finding myself saying, oh I just created an online show that I ran for two years, or I just compiled a book on the topic of failure.  Monique said something profound; she found that it was mainly women who were guilty of this behaviour, working on the idea that we had to be humble. If it was a guy; he would be pleased and proud of any tiny accomplishments and would let the world and their friend know it.

Could this I just behaviour, be one of the things that feed the imposter syndrome that women seem to suffer?  Are we justing ourselves out of our brilliance? Are we playing the false humility card to be considered a good woman?

Thinking along this path brought me back to my childhood and listening to what makes a good woman, she does not speak too much, she not boastful and waits for others to acknowledge her accomplishments.  Does this sound familiar?

And it’s funny how this interesting advice is still showing up in our lives as today, and so many of us are still living by these rules.

Where are you “I justing” in your own life? Are you still denying just how amazing you are and playing the good girl? Who is waiting to be discovered for all that you do?

Now let’s address this, we are not asking you to become a bragging monster and bore people to death with your accomplishments, no!  This is about taking ownership of what you have accomplished, no matter how big or small it is.  We as women and yes this may be a gross generalization seem to believe that unless it is some life-altering accomplishment, it is business as usual. Let\’s stop to notice what we have done even to ourselves; we will find that it gives us a different perspective on who we think we are and it\’s also a great way to silence the chimp committee when they start with how we have not done anything to be proud of.

So what can we do to combat the “I just” behaviour?   Permit yourself to shine. Take pride in what you have accomplished from the little things to your eureka moments!  Celebrate these accomplishments even if it’s just a victory dance look at the football players, every goal gets a victory dance!

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